Well, it's the beginning of day two, which means this will be a report on day one. I know, it's confusing. But try to keep up. :-)
Yesterday was our first day at our work sites. Suffice it to say that our students worked hard - sometimes at jobs that they didn't really know why they were doing it - accomplished much and all with a great attitude. You parents have done a good job of raising your kids with a good work ethic and great attitudes, even if the circumstances are not the best. Mad props to you!
After I finished blogging and uploading pictures yesterday to our Flickr site (BTW, there are new pictures today from yesterday), I ran to the store to pick up a few items for various people - toothbrush, air mattress, etc. - and headed over to the FreeStore Food Bank. I got there just as the work team (Ryan's) was finishing up lunch and was getting ready to watch a movie about the ministry that FreeStore provides. So I ate my lunch and watched with them. This is a ministry that not only distributes donated food to food pantries all over the area, but also helps people process their food stamps, provides hot meals for kids, and teaches people to be chefs so they have a marketable trade, among other things. The team had a great time there separating barrels of non-perishable food into various categories: corn from beans from tomatoes from sauces from fruit, etc. By the end of the day they had separated 18,000 pounds of food. That is not a typo. Nine tons of food they separated! WOW! What a great job! And they had a lot of fun doing it, too. I think they are feeling it today. They will be there again today, then off to a different site. And just a side note, he guys in Ryan's team now refer to him as 'Dad.' (and me as the evil stepdad)
Tammy's group went to Eden Park yesterday. She said the park was beautiful, but they went into the woods and helped tear down some honeysuckle and other plants that would be damaging to the other plants around them. It would have been natural for the students to whine and complain for not being able to do something that may seem more mission trippy. But Tammy said that their attitude was great, that she heard not one grumble. And many of the students came back feeling pretty good about themselves about the work they were able to accomplish. And they said that there were no bugs and they were in the shade. Must have been a God thing. And also, apparently our friend Sergei has a good singing voice as he serenaded the group from the pavilion. He is definitely the kids that everyone will be talking about when we get home!
Tanda's group helped weed a couple of neighborhood gardens. The first one was for kids to help them learn about stewardship, but they only encountered one kid that day, Cameron. Then they helped weed another garden, the food from which was distributed to senior citizens. Tanda had a great time, but I think Lexi struggled a bit since it seemed like they weren't really interacting with anyone. She didn't complain about it; just a sense I get.
Kristy's team went to City Cure, which puts on a day camp for kids. They were greeted by a crazy white youth pastor in his late 40's who rapped for them. An interesting greeting, to say the least. The kids absolutely loved this guy (Gordon)! And they loved on the kids in a big way! Kristy had some expectations for how our students would do, and she said they far exceeded them. Gordon had set the groundwork by telling them that they were not to be talking with each other, but instead to be interacting with the kids that came, and our students jumped into that task with both feet. They had a ball! Kristy said that Mikayla probably had more fun than even the kids that came to the camp. She also said that it was neat to see some of the quiet kids come out of their shell, and the clique-y kids be not so much.
During our team leader meeting each day, we go around and report how our day went. When it got to be Ken from Michigan's turn, he had a stern look on his face as he said, "I had a terrible day." We were on the edge of our seats to hear what went wrong. He went on to say, "I had to play laser tag all day. It was awful!" We absolutely cracked up! He totally set us up. But he went to go on to say that there was a kid that came that was in a wheelchair who had never played laser tag before, so Ken pushed him around the course while he worked the gun. They both had a fantastic time, and they came in the top 10. Fun stuff!
Also in the leader's meeting, Nikki told us how important youth leaders were in her life and spiritual development. It's always good for volunteers to hear that, so I'm glad she shared her heart.
Last night for our evening activity we walked across the Purple People Bridge. We started on the Kentucky side, walked across to Cinci, and then back again. Before venturing into Newport on the Levee for ice cream, we stopped to pray for the Cincinnati. This was cool, but it's also a little discouraging for me - the youth leader - to see how hesitant our kids are to pray out loud. I'm not sure yet if there's something I need to do differently, but it is something I have noticed. After praying, we went into Newport and the kids got hopped up on sugar: ice cream, sno cones, candy. It's a very nice little shopping and eating area. The kids don't know it yet, but we will be returning there on Friday for our fun activity: The Newport Aquarium.
Club last night was a mix of the silly and the serious. It started with a fashion show. Youth Enterprise is a ministry connected to YouthWorks that makes and sells t-shirts and pours the money back into the ministries. The YW staff pushes the shirts all week, so last night we had a fashion show, of which Ryan, Tammy and I were a part. It was very silly! You can see the shirts we modeled on Flickr. Later during club, Alicia shared from her heart and life, a life of alcohol and drug consumption from the time she was in 6th grade. She continued this lifestyle until last spring ('07) when she lost three close friend to death. This helped to serve as a wake-up call that she needed to get right with God, which she did. I hope and pray that the kids were listening and that this story will come to mind when the face similar temptations as they pass through these teen years.
I asked everyone where they saw God in their days. We had many various responses. I then told them that I saw God in how they served and with their attitudes. It is exciting for me to see so many of our students allow themselves to be used by God to be a part, an instrument for what He is trying to do in the world to make everything right again. In closing, I read the lyrics from Remedy by the David Crowder* Band. I will leave you with those lyrics, and also remind you that we will be going to the Freedom Center today. Please pray that the students take this time seriously and allow it to open their eyes to injustice still in the world today. Thanks, and here are those lyrics I promised.
David Crowder* Band - Remedy
Here we are
Here we are
The broken and used
Mistreated, abused
Here we are
Here You are
Here You are
The beautiful one
Who came like a Son
Here You are
So we lift up our voices
We open our hands
To cling to the love
That we can't comprehend
Oh, lift up your voices
And lift up your heads
To sing of the love
That has freed us from sin
He is the one
Who has saved us
He is the one
Who embraced us
He is the one who has come
And is coming again
He's the remedy
Here we are
Here we are
Bandaged and bruised
Awaiting a cure
Here we are
Here You are
Here You are
Our beautiful King
Bringing relief
Here You are with us
So we lift up our voices
And open our hands
Let go of the things
That have kept us from Him
He is the one
Who has saved us
He is the one
Who forgave us
He is thee one who has come
And is coming again
He's the remedy
Oh, I can't comprehend
I can't take it all in
Never understand
Such perfect love come
For the broken and beat
For the wounded and weak
Oh, come fall at his feet
He's the remedy
He's the remedy
So sing, sing
You are the one
Who has saved us
You are the one
Who forgave us
You are the one who has come
And is coming again
To make it alright
Oh, to make it alright
You're the remedy
Oh, in us
You're the remedy
Let us be the remedy
Let us bring the remedy
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